Chapter 4.

Thanks so much for the reviews everybody, I really appreciate your comments and encouragement.

Again, thank you so very much to my stalwart betas, Merlin and Kodiak. Your input and insights have helped me so much. Thanks also to VK, for her advice on medical accuracy, or my total lack of it!

All mistakes are my own, as usual.

Consciousness returned swiftly to Sheppard. He opened his eyes to see an anxious Marrin standing over him. Okay, why am I on the floor this time? He wondered. As the pain rushed in with a vengeance he vividly remembered. Sheppard moaned as he took an inventory of his injuries. His hands burned horrendously, his left wrist ached beyond belief, his leg throbbed, but otherwise he thought he felt pretty good, especially when considering his little fight with the ladder and gravity.

"Colonel. Praise the Ancestors. I thought you had surely been killed. Are you badly injured?" the visibly shaken, elderly woman asked the pilot.

Sheppard considered her question and groaned an answer through clenched teeth, "Feels like I broke my wrist…hurts like hell. Leg's throbbing. Hands hurt too…I think the rest of me is fine. Hang on a minute…let me try and move." He started to sit up, but screamed in agony as his right leg let him know that was a very bad idea. Sheppard screwed his eyes shut and panted as the pain threatened to overwhelm him. As he breathed through the piercing agony he felt in his leg, Sheppard managed to pry open his eyes. He heard Marrin asking him what was wrong, and realised she was walking towards him.

Watching through slitted eyes as the woman approached, Sheppard could see that Marrin was looking down the length of his body, for any sign of further injury. When her eyes lingered on his legs and she put her hand over her mouth, gasping, Sheppard realised that Marrin had found the source of his intense pain. "Cononel! Please do not try to move again. You have hurt your leg. Stay still. I will bring your friends here immediately."

The pilot's eyes screwed shut again. "'Kay," he managed to grind out. He took shallow breaths to try and quell the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. 'You've hurt your leg', maybe a slight understatement he thought wryly. The fiery pain in his leg was dying down to a fierce throb, when his musings were interrupted by a loud, whining voice approaching at what he imagined to be a furious speed. Despite his discomfort, Sheppard couldn't help smiling as he heard the unmistakable voice heading in his direction.

"For God's sake, what's Colonel Catastrophe done now? Grazed a knee, broken a fingernail?"

Sheppard's smile turned into a grimace as Rodney McKay burst into the small room, the scientist stopping abruptly in his tracks as he registered the prone figure lying on the floor. "Jesus, Sheppard. What did you do to yourself this time?" the irritated scientist impatiently demanded.

"Fell off… ladder… hurt my leg a little, I think."

"What is it with you? Disaster seems to follow you everywhere. No doubt trying to impress the fairer species again, eh? Come on, let's have a look…"

The pilot swallowed as he registered the colour fading from McKay's face. What the hell had he done that would make McKay look like he was about to faint? Sheppard finally braved a look at his right leg. He started to feel light-headed as he saw he'd been speared straight through his thigh by a large, filthy piece of wood from the ladder. The offending item was still impaled in his flesh. No wonder trying to move had hurt like hell.

McKay expressed out loud what he was inwardly thinking. "Oh, this is not good. Really. This is bad. Really, really bad…"

Sheppard watched as Teyla stepped forward, noticing her barely contained look of shock as she first registered the severity of his injury. She knelt, and looked into his eyes. "John, do not move. You will be fine, but you must let us take care of you. Rodney?" Upon hearing no reply, Teyla turned to the panicked scientist, and spoke again, this time a little more forcefully, "Rodney. I need you to bring me the medical kit from our supplies…NOW!"

The Athosian had uncharacteristically raised her voice at the bemused scientist, who looked at her in surprise and spluttered, "Medical kit…right…yes. On my way."

A few seconds later Sheppard saw him return and hand the kit to the Athosian.

The pilot groaned as Teyla gently cut the fabric off his pant leg with a pair of scissors from the kit. That really, really hurts. Please stop, Teyla, he pleaded silently.

The Athosian had obviously heard his soft moan, and he felt her place a gentle hand on his shoulder. He listened to her soothing voice. "I am sorry, John. I need to see the wound. I am nearly finished."

"Sorry… hurts," he started to apologise, but as he tried to cover his eyes with his arms, the pain hit. He cried out as his injured left wrist screamed at him from the movement. "Son of a bitch…forgot my wrist is broken… Crap," he moaned as the nausea yet again reared its ugly head.

The pilot managed to watch as Teyla finally pulled the remaining fabric away from the wound and studied her face as she turned, looking at McKay in horror. Okay, so it's bad. He gulped as bile threatened to rise in his throat, and closed his eyes. "It is not as bad as it looks, John." You're a terrible liar, he thought, as she continued to talk to him. "But I dare not try and remove the wood. You could have damaged blood vessels and moving it could cause severe bleeding," she explained.

The panting pilot opened his eyes, hazel slits regarding the Athosian kneeling beside him. "'Kay," he whispered in reply, unable to say more.

"Ronon, we need to move him from this floor, into the other room. Can you lift him?" he heard the Athosian enquire of the Satedan. He knew that the powerful warrior could easily do that.

"With ease," the large man boasted.

Sheppard turned his head to watch McKay, who was glaring at Teyla incredulously,

"That's a dreadful idea. He'll be in agony if we try and move him, and we may do more damage."

Teyla's grimace didn't go unnoticed by the pilot; he saw her turn to the scientist and try to reason with him, " I understand, Rodney. But this floor is dirty and cold. I need to clean his wounds. His leg is likely to become infected before we can bring help. We must make him as comfortable as we can until then."

The scientist seemed to be considering the Athosian's words, "Fine, we should immobilise his wrist first," he finally stated, giving in grudgingly.

Sheppard silently decided he wouldn't be looking forward to that. His thoughts were interrupted by Teyla, "John, did you hit your head or lose consciousness?"

Sheppard looked at the slender woman and considered her question. Had he? He thought he had briefly, but didn't remember hitting his head. He felt lucid now, even though the pain he was suffering was making him feel like hell. "He did for a few moments, but I did not see him hit his head." He recognised Marrin's voice.

The reluctant patient flinched as Teyla performed some of the basic neurological tests that Dr. Beckett had shown her, and was relieved when the Athosian reported that he appeared not to be concussed. Lucky old me, he thought to himself.

"John?" Teyla's voice brought him out of his reverie. "I am going to bind your wrist. I will try to be as gentle as I can, but it will be uncomfortable. If it hurts too much tell me and I will stop." The Athosian's gentle voice was soothing, but Sheppard knew moving his wrist was going to be painful.

The pilot watched Teyla's concerned face and gritted his teeth, managing to grind out, "Just do it. I know it's going to hurt. I'll be ok."

"Rodney, hand me those bandages. We need something to use as a splint. Pieces of wood, or something straight and solid?" The Athosian looked around the room, and Sheppard noticed as Marrin came forward and spoke.

"There are some sticks I use for stirring my preserves, would they be suitable?" The elderly woman stepped forward and removed two thin, flat pieces of wood from a jar and held them out to Teyla. Sheppard inwardly laughed; his wrist splinted by two sticks covered in jelly- lovely! The smile was soon wiped from his face as Teyla gently lifted his wrist, first feeling for his pulse. He saw her nod her head, and watched as the Athosian carefully placed the splints on either side of his wrist, bandaging around the injured limb quickly and efficiently. Sheppard couldn't surpress a gasp as she quickly completed her task.

"Crap…that hurts…sorry," he moaned, his right arm shielding his eyes from those in the room. He groaned as his injured limb was gently placed on his chest.

Sheppard panted as the pain momentarily overwhelmed him. God, he was going to puke. "Teyla…sick," he gasped as he started to gag. He felt himself being rolled onto his left side and inwardly screamed as his arm and leg protested at the sudden movement. Sheppard retched, inwardly cringing as lunch made a re-appearance. When his body decided it had had enough fun at his expense, he groaned as he was returned to his back again. Feeling sweaty and spent, he looked up to see McKay glaring, muttering, "Oh, that's disgusting. I'm going to leave before I lose my lunch too." Thanks, McKay, he thought to himself, as he felt a cool rag wipe his face.

" John, I have finished bandaging your arm now. There is a strong pulse." She reassured him. She looked over to Ronon. "We should move him now."

Sheppard opened his eyes to see McKay stepping from out of the shadows; obviously he hadn't left or lost his lunch. No, he would never leave, no matter what; deep down Sheppard knew that. His thoughts were interrupted when McKay starting talking. "Teyla, I think we should give him morphine before we move him. He'll be in agony if we don't."

"I think that would be a good idea," agreed Teyla.

McKay nervously came forward, holding an autojet in his hand. "I can give it to him. God knows, I've injected myself with enough epipens."

Sheppard looked up at McKay and whispered, "Don't want any. I'll be fine"

The scientist knelt by the injured man, undid the zip on Sheppard's black shirt, pulling it down to expose his shoulder. He efficiently jabbed the injection in the soft flesh of Sheppard's upper arm, stood and muttered, "Well, you got some anyway."

Sheppard rolled his eyes, and saw Teyla beckoning to Ronon. He felt a detached numbness coursing through his body. He let his eyes slide shut and sighed in relief; his body had finally had enough. Sheppard heard McKay's grumbling voice through a sea of fog, and groaned as he felt someone gently lift him. He knew it was Ronon, and was humiliated to realise he was being carried like an infant in its parent's arms. "Am not a baby…" he mumbled to himself as his vision blurred and darkness surrounded him.

Tbc.